With the price of West Coast Pinots floating upward behind those of
Cabernets, we assembled a set of recently released wines for our group's
evaluation.

Most of the wines were from the 2001 vintage, though a couple of just-released
200s were included.

One wine was statistically well ahead of the group and two wines were well
behind the pack. Only three of the 8 wines received a last place vote.
One wine was bargain priced at $20, while the rest were in the "whatever
the market will bear" category. Some vintners have over-estimated
their importance in the grand scheme of things.

Here's what we found:

The Wines

Gerald's Rank

Ellen's
Rank

Bob's
Rank

GROUP RANKING

Total Points

1sts/2nds/
Lasts

ADRIAN FOG2001 Anderson ValleySavoyVineyard
$75

8

8

8

8

91

1/0/9

BEAUX FRRES
2001 Willamette ValleyThe Beaux Frres Vineyard
$74.99

6

6

6

7

88

0/0/4

DEHLINGER
2000 RussianRiverValley
$44.99

4

1

1

1

32

8/2/0

MORGAN2000 SantaLuciaHighlandsDouble L Vineyard
$45

5

7

5

5

64

1/0/0

OLIVET
LANE
2001 RussianRiverValley
$20

2

4

4

4

55

0/2/0

ROAR2001 SantaLuciaHighlands
Rosellas Vineyard
$44.99

1

2

3

2

47

3/3/0

SIDURI
2001 SantaLuciaHighlandsPisoni Vineyard
$49.99

3

5

2

3

52

0/7/1

VISION
CELLARS
2001 MontereyCountyGarys'Vineyard$55

7

3

7

6

75

1/0/0

Notes by Bob Gorman & Gerald Weisl,
Wine Merchants

8TH PLACE: ADRIAN FOG 2001 ANDERSON VALLEY PINOT NOIR "SAVOY"
It was generally agreed that this last-place wine was seriously
defective. "Over-ripe, 'Pinot Port' and volatile acidity in
spades". Another added "an unhealthy wine, its bacteriological
problems rendering it useless." Others discerned "chocolate syrup,
mushrooms, metallic notes and an earthy, medicinal finish."
Gerald described this as "Medicinal, with band-aid fragrances and tons of
seriously over-ripe fruit. This has more to do with Late Harvest Zinfandel
than anything resembling Burgundian Pinot Noir. I don't know what they're
stomping at the Savoy, but it isn't Pinot Noir! An amateurish effort with
an appallingly high price tag.

We received a phone call from the irate owner and winemaker of
the Adrian Fog wine, telling us we may have had a bad "bottle"
of his wine.
He argues our publishing the tasting note above is irresponsible, taking
exception with the adjectives "band-aid" and "amateurish
effort."
Citing his wine as a high quality, premium product, winemaker Stewart
Dorman told us "My wine is served in some of the country's finest
restaurants."

7TH PLACE: BEAUX FRRES 2001 WILLAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR "BEAUX FRRES
VINEYARD"
Bob found it soft and spicy on the nose, reminding of quince jelly.
It had a flat entry, with raspy tannins (uncharacteristic for
Pinot); short Pinot fruit with the taste of apple-drops on the
finish.
Descriptors offered by the tasters included "rye bread, low acid, tobacco,
earthy, musty, rose petals, charred plums, hazelnut, Central Coast Pinot Noir,
weak and under-ripe fruit."
Gerald found some brown spice notes and Oriental spices
with hints of grapefruit and rose petal. The wine is more aggressive on
the palate than one might expect from such a charming fragrance. He gave
it a one-half star rating on his 3 star scale (no stars being standard quality).

6TH PLACE: VISION CELLARS 2001 MONTEREY COUNTY PINOT NOIR
"GARYS"One taster found "ripe cherries, vanilla cream, and mushrooms on
the finish." Another taster with an enological background
found "persistent Mercaptan; a soft, warm and flabby wine."
Bob found bright Pinot fruit verging on shrill with a "peach-leaf"
herbaceous edge. But it was a curious wine on the palate, very
ripe but with uncomfortably high acid (V-A or ethyl acetate?) and
a flat aftertaste.
Gerald described this as the most Beaujolais-like wine of the tasting, this
offering showing cherry and strawberry fruit with a hint of cola. As
charming as it is on the nose, the wine is hot on the entry and this alcoholic
bite reduces the charm factor considerably. Perhaps a one-half star rating
is in order.

5TH PLACE: MORGAN 2000 SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS PINOT NOIR "DOUBLE
L"
A controversial wine, the nays found a "vegetal, swampy
nose" "musty" "rubbery, sulfury notes" and those more
favorable
found it "Amarone-like," "tart, jammy," "Asian spice on
the
nose," "earthy, smoky, ripe" and "leathery." Leathery
it was, a
Brett lover's dream! So much so that it was difficult to discern
any Pinot Noir on the nose. But substantial Pinot fruit shows on
the palate. Bob sided with the yea's.
Gerald found some woodsy and earthy notes with forest floor fragrances and wet
leaves on the aromas. The Brettanomyces "leather" aromas add a
point of interest, but some may be repulsed by this character. There are
some beet root and pencil shaving notes here, too. Nice wine. Half
star rating.

4TH PLACE: OLIVET LANE 2001 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR
At half the price of its peers, this wine showed very well indeed.
Bob found smoky Pinot fruit, ripe cherries, spice, judicious support
from oak but maybe a bit dull (rather than bright). It's a bit
soft in the mouth but the wine has plenty of stuff and a nice
length. Another taster found it "nicely aromatic with earthy black
fruit" and another liked its note of "huckleberry." Less
sympathetic tasters found it "simple
and weak" and "herbal and pallid."
Gerald liked the sweet cherry fragrances and beet root aromas. He found a
bit of root beer, too, and nice, vanillin oak. The flavors are rather
cherryish with good length and tremendous balance. Very charming and
drinking now. One-and-a-half stars.

3RD PLACE: SIDURI 2001 SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS PINOT NOIR "PISONI"This third place wine was variously described as having "ripe
cherries, tobacco" "reminding of sweet cherry candy" and "an
earthy finish." A detractor found it "bitter and hot."
Bob found a nice big rush of Pinot cherries, lots of spice, roots, very
California in style. It was one very nice mouthful with grip and
balance but the fruit does have its soft, hot side. More of a
bright point would be preferred.
Gerald encountered ripe berry notes and some spices reminiscent of cloves and
nutmeg with some toasty oak and vanillin. It's very ripe and mildly
tannic. The spice notes come through nicely on the palate, making for one
rather complex wine. One-and-a-half stars.

.2ND PLACE: ROAR 2001 SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS PINOT NOIR
"ROSELLA'S"
One taster found this second place wine "intense and rich but
sadly low in acid" while others
found "smoke", "coffee", "herbs", "tar",
"sweet oak and wet
tobacco". Another found it too heavy-handed in the oak department"
while another thought that there was H2S (hydrogen
sulfide).
Bob found malolactic notes of coffee and crme brle with lots of
Pinot cherries and spice from the oak. Soft, ripe and one big
mouthful of Pinot!
Gerald found this to have a very sweet perfume with cherry and berry fruit
dominating the nose, along with a toasty oak component. The cherry fruit
flavors on the palate combine with nice vanillin and a hint of mocha to make for
a very handsome and balanced wine. Two stars.

1ST PLACE: DEHLINGER 2000 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIRHere is a major Pinot Noir statement: bright with lots of cherries,
spice, and "terroir"(an intriguing earthy tone). The wine is bright in
the mouth too; long, balanced, excellent structure, spice, some grip. It has the
best chance among its peers to develop nicely over the next two to five years.
The tasters liked it for "its rich blackberry fruit" its "silky
texture" its "intensity on the nose and the palate" and
"hint of star-anise."
Gerald found a mildly woodsy note to this berryish Pinot with a pencil
shaving-sort of fragrance. There's a touch of heat here detracting a bit,
but it's still a charming wine. One star.

Please note: The wines tasted are not always wines
we have (or have had) in the shop.
Many bottles are merely for our enological exploration.
Price quoted are current at the time of the tasting, but may be different
when you're reading this.

WE HAVE NOT ORGANIZED A TASTING IN A WHILE...
BUT WE DO POST THE RESULTS OF A PRIVATE TASTING GROUP THAT'S BEEN MEETING FOR
MORE THAN 40 YEARS!

We are working on
organizing some blind-tastings at the shop.
Send us a note to indicate your interest in participating.
These would be on Wednesday evenings and you'd need to bring 8 wine glasses.